Liquid crystal display apparatuses are used not only as a large-sized television but also as a small-sized display device such as a display unit of a portable telephone. Although a TN (Twisted Nematic) mode liquid crystal display apparatus, which was often used conventionally, has a relatively narrow viewing angle, wide viewing angle liquid crystal display apparatuses such as in IPS (In-Plane-Switching) mode or VA (Vertical Alignment) mode have been being manufactured in recent years. Since VA mode can realize a higher contrast ratio among such wide viewing angle liquid crystal display apparatuses, VA mode is employed by many liquid crystal display apparatuses.
However, VA mode liquid crystal display apparatuses may provide grayscale reversal when being viewed obliquely. To suppress grayscale reversal, MVA (Multi-domain Vertical Alignment) mode has been employed which forms a plurality of liquid crystal domain in one pixel region. In MVA mode liquid crystal display apparatuses, an alignment control structure is provided on the liquid crystal layer side of a substrate that is at least one of a pair of opposing substrates between which the vertically aligned liquid crystal layer is sandwiched. The alignment control structure is, for example, a liner slit (aperture) or a rib (protrusion) provided on an electrode. The alignment control structure applies alignment control force to one or both sides of the liquid crystal layer to form a plurality of liquid crystal domains (typically, four liquid crystal domains) having different alignment directions, thereby suppressing grayscale reversal.
In addition, in VA mode liquid crystal display apparatuses, an image in an oblique view may be brighter than the image in the front view (see Patent Document No. 1). This kind of phenomenon may be referred to as whitening. In a liquid crystal display apparatus in Patent Document No. 1, each of red, green, and blue pixels has subpixels, luminances of which can be different respectively, thereby suppressing white floating in an oblique view to improve viewing angle characteristics.
FIG. 23 shows a schematic diagram of a liquid crystal display apparatus 800 disclosed in Patent Document No. 1. In the liquid crystal display apparatus 800, different subpixel electrodes 824a, 824b are connected to a common source line S through corresponding TFTs 830a, 830b, and form capacitive couplings with corresponding storage capacitor lines CSa, CSb. In the liquid crystal display apparatus 800, potentials of the subpixel electrodes 824a, 824b are changed when voltages of storage capacitor lines CSa, CSb are different, so that luminances of subpixels Spa, Spb are different, thereby improving viewing angle characteristics.
FIG. 24 shows a schematic diagram of another liquid crystal display apparatus 900 disclosed in Patent Document No. 1. In the liquid crystal display apparatus 900, subpixel electrodes 924a, 924b are connected through different TFTs 930a, 930b to different source lines Sa, Sb, respectively. Also in the liquid crystal display apparatus 900, potentials of subpixel electrodes 924a, 924b are made different so that luminances of subpixels Spa, Spb are different, thereby improving viewing angle characteristics.
It is also known that luminances of two subpixels are made different by lowering the voltage of one of two subpixel electrodes after the subpixel electrodes are charged (for example, see Non-Patent Document No. 1). In a liquid crystal display apparatus disclosed in Non-Patent Document No. 1, one of two subpixels contained in a pixel further has another storage capacitor which is controlled by an adjacent gate line, in addition to a liquid crystal capacitor and a storage capacitor that are similar to those of the other subpixel. Thereby, in the liquid crystal display apparatus in Non-Patent Document No. 1, after a gate line is turned on and subpixel electrodes corresponding to two subpixels are charged, the voltage of one of the subpixel electrodes is lowered when an adjacent gate line is selected. In this way, viewing angle characteristics are improved in the liquid crystal display apparatus disclosed in Non-Patent Document No. 1.